Philip Sidney was born in 1554 in England and served Queen Elizabeth I in diplomatic roles until falling out of favor. He left court and began writing poetry. In 1586, he accompanied his uncle to defend Protestants in the Lowlands and was fatally wounded in battle. Considered a national hero, Sidney was praised as one of the great Elizabethan writers. As a critic, Sidney approached poetry as a responsive reader rather than pedantic rule-maker. He felt literature was a dynamic force that could uplift people emotionally and aesthetically. His definitions of poetry focused on its ability to teach and delight through notable images of virtue and vice. Sidney's criticism was constructive and contributed to understanding literary values. He appreciated older

1. Umm-e-Rooman Yaqoob
Roll # 3
B.S (English) 5th Semester
Philip Sidney As A Critic And Romantic Poet
Philip Sidney:
PhilipSidneywasbornonNovember30,1554, at hisfamily'sstate at Penshurst inKent,England.From
hisyouth,Sidneywasrespectedforhishigh-mindedintelligence,andfrequentlyprovideddiplomatic
service toQueenElizabethIasa Protestantpolitical liaison.HisoppositiontoherFrenchmarriage
earnedherdispleasure,however,andhe laterleftcourtand beganwritinghispoetical works.In1586,
Sidneyaccompaniedhisuncle,RobertDudley,Earl of Leicester,tothe Lowlandstodefendthe
Protestantsandwaswoundedinbattle,dyingafew weekslater,onOctober17.Consideredanational
hero,Sidneywasgivenalavishfuneral.Whenhispoetrywassubsequentlypublished,he became lauded
as one of the great Elizabethanwriters.
Sidney as a Critic:
Sidneyapproachedpoetrynotasa pedanticcritic,butas a responsivereader. While mostof his
contemporarieswere busyframingrulesof rhetoricandprosody,he waspavingthe wayforcreative
literature.He waspreparinganaudience whocould'feel'the emotionalimpactof literature and
appreciate it.Sidneyfeltthatliterature wasagreatdynamicforce and it hadthe power'tomove','to
uplift'andto satisfyemotionallyandaesthetically.J.W.H.Atkinshaspointedoutthat"to himpoetry
was a natural human activity enablingmentosingto beautyandtruth,andto satisfytheirlongingsfora
worldtransformed,thusnurturinginthemwhatwasgoodand noble.Moreover,sofarfrombeing
merelyaninstrumentof moral teaching,itwasa concrete andinspiringrevelationof humandeals,and
thus,ina sense,acriticismof life.This,thenwithitselementof permanenttruth,wasthe substance of
Sidney'smessage toanage perplexedandevenhostile."
No doubtSidneyhasfreelydrawnonearliercritics,yethe hastriedto arrive at hisownconceptionof
poetry.The basicquestion he meetsis:whyispoetryvaluable.The secondsectionof hisessaydeals
withthe nature and value of poetry.Thisisfollowedbyanexaminationof the objectiontopoetry.The
fourthsectionpresentsacritique of the contemporaryliterarypoetryandof morality.
His definitionsof poetry,twoinnumber,speakof hisgreatnessasacritic.
The firstis :"Poesy,therefore,isanartof imitation,arepresenting, counterfeiting,orfiguringforth;to
speakmetaphorically,aspeaking picture,withthisend,—toteachanddelight."

2. The secondis:"it is notrhyming and versing thatmaketh a poet....butit is thatfeigning notableimages
of virtue or vice, or -whatelse,with thatdelightfulteaching;which mustbe the right describing noteto
knowa poet by. "
Sidney'spractical criticismisconstructive andhisworkcontributesagreatdeal toa better
understandingof literaryvalues.He callsattentiontoliteraryexcellenciesof more thanone kind.He has
enthusiasmforBiblical literature andfindsmuch merit,unlike the otherhumanistsof the day,inthe
medieval literature.He appreciatesChaucerandthe balladof ChevyChase.Inmanyways,Sidney
inauguratedanewera inthe historyof Englishliterarycriticism.Histreatise isalandmarkinthe history
of literarycriticisminEngland.More trulythanDrydenhe isthe fatherof literarycriticisminthat
country.
Dramatic criticisminEnglandbeganwithSidney.Tohimgoesthe creditof havingformulated,forthe
firsttime,more or lessina systematicmanner,the general principlesof dramaticart.As a Frenchcritic
writes,Sidney'sDefence of Poetry,"givesusanalmostcomplete theoryof neo-classical tragedy,a
hundredyearsbefore the 'ArtPoetique'of Boileau."Sidneyisunique asacritic.He is judicial,creative
and original.Hence the value of hisworkforall timestocome.
The Romantic Revolution: the Subversion of Reason / Passion.
From the 1790s on,for the firsttime,poetsandauthorsbeganto write frompersonal andemotional
points-of-view,andbegantovalue (inmanifestos,even)the imagination,dreams,emotions,
individuality,andpoeticfreedom.We owe agreatdeal of our Americanvaluesof freedom,liberty,
individualityandfree speechtothe Romanticrevolution.Withourbelief inpoetryasthe expressionof
feelings,thatwritersare individualswithprivatelives,andourinclinationtokeepjournalsanddiaries,
we are verymuch heirsof the Romanticrevolution.
So itwouldseemthatSidney,writingfromthe pointof view of anemotionallyanguishedknightwho
bearshisheart andsoul,was a romanticbefore histime.Yesandno. Yes,the portraitSidneypresents
resemblesthe inner-lifespiritof aRomantic.Butthe figure Atrophicisverymuchpart of a social system
as a knightina court that configureshisidentity,andhe alwaysmustbalance histhoughts,desiresand
actionsagainsta society.Too,hisself-absorptionandhisfrequentdetachmentfromsocietywouldnot
be read as representingvirtue,nordidSidneyprobablyintendAtrophictobe a virtuousfigure.Inother
words, Atrophicisnotmeantto be the heroicromanticfigure of a troubledandsolitarysoul emotionally
sufferinginadisinterested society.Thistype of literaryfiguredoesnotdevelopuntilthe late 1700s.